FRISCO – For the second year in a row, East Texas A&M University women's track and field student-athlete Romi Griese has been named the Southland Conference Women's Track and Field Outdoor Student-Athlete of the Year, being among eight Lions named to the Southland All-Academic team.
 
Griese (Salzkotten, Germany) is the first student-athlete from East Texas A&M to be named Southland Student-Athlete of the Year twice. She also repeated as the Southland champion in the discus and competed at this year's NCAA West First Rounds. Griese is a biological sciences major, being named to the president's list and the SLC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
 
Along with Griese, Kingsley Ayebide (Burutu, Nigeria), Peyton Berry (Argyle), Jonas Gran (Riehen, Switzerland), Amara Idinna (Viry-Châtillon, France), Sandy Sakyi (Bremen, Germany), Kira van den Ham (Bunnik, The Netherlands), Cheyne West (Rochester, England) are named to the Southland all-academic team.
 
To be eligible for all-academic distinction, an athlete must hold a minimum 3.25 cumulative grade point average through the semester prior to the sport's championship, completed at least one full academic semester at the nominating school prior to the current season, and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competitions during the most recently completed season. Student-Athlete of the Year nominees must have held at least a 3.50 GPA and have completed at least one semester of athletic competition at the nominating school, including the current season.
 
Ayebide finished sixth in the 60 meter dash at the indoor SLC championships, while being part of the third-place 4x100 meter relay team at the outdoor championships. He also ran the 4x100 meter relay at the NCAA West First Rounds. He is a SLC Commissioner's honor recipient and a public health major.
 
Berry won the conference title in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault as a freshman. She has also been named to the SLC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Dean's List, being a psychology major.
 
Gran was a point scorer in one event at the indoor conference championships as well as two at the outdoor conference championships. He took fifth in the indoor heptathlon, while placing fifth in the outdoor decathlon and sixth in the javelin. Gran is a general studies major and a SLC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient.
 
Idinna was named the Southland Indoor and Outdoor Freshman of the Year. She was the silver medalist in the indoor and outdoor high jump, while also earning the bronze medal in both the indoor 60 meter hurdles and outdoor 100 meter hurdles. Idinna raced in the 100 meter hurdles at the NCAA West First Rounds. She is a business analytics major, being a SLC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient.
 
Sakyi is a business administration major and named to the SLC Commissioner's Honor Roll as well. She was the conference champion in the 100 meter hurdles, while advancing to the NCAA West First Rounds. Sakyi holds the school record in the 100 meter hurdles as well.
 
van den Ham took the silver medal in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault at the conference championships this year. She is a health kinesiology & sports studies major and has been named to the president's list during her Lion career.
 
West was also named the Southland Freshman of the Year following both the indoor and outdoor seasons. He took home the indoor 60 meter hurdles title as well, while being a medalist in the outdoor 110 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles, and 4x400 meter relay at the outdoor championships. West is a school record holder in both the 110 meter hurdles and 400 meter hurdles. He ran the 110 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles, and 4x100 meter relay at the NCAA West First Rounds. He is a kinesiology & sports studies major.
 
2026 Southland Women's Indoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year: Ashton Rainey, Lamar, Jr.
2026 Southland Women's Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year: Romi Griese, East Texas A&M, Jr.
2026 Southland Men's Indoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year: Kye Loweth, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Jr.
2026 Southland Men's Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year: Samson Black, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Fr.
 
2026 Southland Women's Track & Field All-Academic Team
Romi Griese, East Texas A&M, Jr., *O
Amara Idinna, East Texas A&M, Fr.
Peyton Berry, East Texas A&M, Fr., *I/O
Kira Van Dem Ham, East Texas A&M, Gr.
Sandy Sakyi, East Texas A&M, Fr.
 
Reyes Carrera, HCU, Fr.
Brianna Hinds, HCU, Sr.
Chimaoge Nwokedi, HCU, Jr.
Samantha Rabius, HCU, Gr.
Storm Evans, HCU, Jr.
 
Alyssa Laspada, UIW, Sr.
Emily Torres, UIW, Jr.
Fatima Montes, UIW, Jr.
Jada Green, UIW
Stoya Laydevant, UIW, Fr.
 
Mariam Buenaneuva Saleme, Lamar, Sr., *O
Kyndall Drones, Lamar, So.
Ashton Rainey, Lamar, Jr.
Neelie Schiel, Lamar, Sr.
Krystan Bright, So.
 
Jenny Barcenas, McNeese, Sr.
Keelei Dorsey, McNeese, So.
Sydnie Cooley, McNeese, Jr.
Fancy Jelagat, McNeese, Fr.
Uxue Castro Martin, McNeese, So.
 
Anais Sulpice, New Orleans, Gr.
Alexa Daverio, New Orleans, Fr.
London Parker, New Orleans, So.
Agathe Tronchon, New Orleans, So.
Christina Davis, New Orleans, Jr.
 
Andrea Triado, Nicholls, Sr.
Isabelle Seijlhouwer, Nicholls, Jr.
Issy Rivault, Nicholls, Jr.
Anne De Jong, Nicholls, Sr.
Ava-Claire Calais, Nicholls, So.
 
Sileena Farrell, Northwestern St., Sr.
Margaret Mannering, Northwestern St., Fr.
Thea Ring, Northwestern St., Sr.
Teodora Samac, Northwestern St., So.
Eliska Zahradnickova, Northwestern St., Sr.
 
Ava Pizarro, Southeastern, Jr.
Breanna Becerra, Southeastern, Sr.
Kallie Calvaruso, Southeastern, Sr.
Onyah Favour, Southeastern, Jr., *I/O
Miriam Kauer, Southeastern, Sr.
 
Garance Dubray, SFA, So.
Alana Rouquette, SFA, Fr.
Annalee Gardner, SFA, Jr.
Lauren Creaby, SFA, Fr.
Timiejha Furlow, SFA, Sr.
 
Breyunna Dowell, TAMUCC, Sr., *O
Natalia Rankin-Chitar, TAMUCC, Gr., *O
Neele Heyne, TAMUCC, Jr., *O
Embla Hreimsdottir, TAMUCC, So.
Alicia Finnis, TAMUCC, Jr.
 
La'Zariah Bethany, UTRGV, Jr., *O
Efe Latham, UTRGV, Sr.
Kaliyah Poston, UTRGV, Gr., *O
Ashley Lingueno, UTRGV, Jr., *O
Talyna Ligier, UTRGV, Fr., *O
 
2026 Southland Men's Track & Field All-Academic Team
Cheyne West, East Texas A&M, Fr., *I
Jonas Gran, East Texas A&M, Jr.
Kingsley Ayebide, East Texas A&M, So.
 
SJ Marais, HCU, Jr., *O
Raphael Aureau, HCU, Gr., *I/O
Colby Kurtz, HCU, Sr.
Ashton Munoz-Nieves, HCU, Sr.
Kade Stevens, HCU, So.
 
Alex Brown, UIW, Sr., *I
Emanuel Mood, UIW, So.
Ethan Malesich, UIW, Jr.
Gabriel Grebet, UIW, Gr., *I
Jonah Ulbricht, UIW, Sr.
 
Davis Wenthe, Lamar, Sr., *O
Ethan Ellis, Lamar, Sr.
Anthony Oliver, Lamar, Jr., *O
Luke Parker, Lamar, So., *I
John Sanderson, Lamar, So.
 
Lawson Fritsch, McNeese, Fr.
Samuel Serrano, McNeese, So.
Tanny Beard, McNeese, Jr.
Gregory Martin, McNeese, Fr.
Michael Brame, McNeese, So.
 
Daryl Bachmann, New Orleans, So.
Mason Appleton, New Orleans, Sr.
Antonio Delgado, New Orleans, Sr.
Jose Manuel Rodriguez, New Orleans, So.
Olamipo Ladipo, New Orleans, Jr.
 
William Bellina, Nicholls, Sr.
Brady Sins, Nicholls, So.
Trent Granberry, Nicholls, Jr.
Alex Hartline, Nicholls, Jr.
Jonell Scott, Nicholls, So.
 
Will Achee, Northwestern St., So., *O
Charlie Bartholomew, Northwestern St., Sr., *O
Kalen Beavers, Northwestern St., Jr., *I/O
Tarajh Hudson, Northwestern St., Gr., *O
Seth Smith, Northwestern St., Jr.
 
Gerrit Visser, Southeastern, Sr.
Micah Miller, Southeastern, Sr.
Trey Faherty, Southeastern, Sr.
Daniel Atinaya, Southeastern, So.
Josh Ty-Brown, Southeastern, So., *O
 
Robert Fuelle, SFA, Sr.
Kason Reed, SFA, So.
Sam Pavan, SFA, Gr., *O
Zachary McPhee, SFA, Gr.
Ryan Binskin, SFA, So.
 
Kye Lowth, TAMUCC, Jr., *I
Samson Black, TAMUCC, Fr., *O
Jordan Bowling, TAMUCC, So.
Diego Canto, TAMUCC, So.
Novestus Kipkemei Meli, Fr.
 
Daniel Siaffa, UTRGV, Sr.
Abraham Morales, UTRGV, Gr.
Jefferson Jean, UTRGV, Jr.
Alejandro Arellano, UTRGV, Sr.
Nirmit Dahiya, UTRGV, Jr.
 
The *(O/I)  indicates first-team all-conference for the respective season (indoor or outdoor)